Have you heard the rumours?

what about Clyde Basel ??

ElvisisKing wrote:

what about Clyde Basel ??

Best commentator in SA by a mile..

But i think it's always been a plan for Niko to return? Don't think he would have thought 4 Racing would be held up this long...

IMO we need 4 or 5 new commentators, the Western Cape is shocking

Feel for Bailie a bit

2018 article

The fallout from the Steinhoff fraud is starting to rock South Africa’s horse racing industry, a sector into which former CEO Markus Jooste channelled much of his ill-gotten gains. One of the world’s highest profile racing personalities, American heavyweight Barry Irwin, has decided to sell up as a direct result of the Jooste contamination of SA racing. Irwin, a global racing legend whose achievements including winning the Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup, has invested heavily in South African bloodstock over many years. He was drawn partly because of the excellent value-for-money offered by SA horses, but also in anticipation of the promised boom that would follow the termination of restrictive export protocols on SA thoroughbreds. In an email which he sent last night, Irwin says he has learnt from his global contacts that for as long as Jooste’s cronies retain their hold over the industry, those export protocols will remain in force. He has called for the immediate resignation of anyone in SA racing connected with Steinhoff’s disgraced former CEO, including Jooste’s racing business partner Chris van Niekerk who made his fortune when Steinhoff bought PG Bison, a company Van Niekerk co-owned following a management buyout from the Lubner family. – Alec Hogg

From Barry Irwin*

It is with sadness and regret that today I have taken a decision to leave South African racing and breeding.

I will come up with a plan to liquidate my racing and breeding stock.


Global horseracing heavyweight Barry Irwin in the winner’s enclosure, this time in Germany. podoim
Some of the stock will be moved to different countries.

It will be an orderly process so as to disrupt as few people’s lives as possible.

As some of you may or may not know, I have over the past few months put in an effort to make heads or tails (and even tales!) out of the export protocol strategies.

No matter what you hear or read, progress is considerably less rosy than it has been portrayed.

I sent one of the world’s leading equine immunologist to South Africa on a fact-finding mission. He reported that the scientific progress as being directed by Dr. Guthrie and his associates in the Western Cape has been impressive.

From what I have been told by my contacts, however, the business end of affairs is not up to the same standard of the scientists involved. I have learned that as long as Chris van Niekerk continues to be involved in the effort that the initiative is likely to continue to be slow-track because the international community wants nothing to do with Markus Jooste or anybody tainted by him.

I don’t know Mr. van Niekerk. For all I know he is a wonderful fellow. But the cooties he collected from being involved with Markus Jooste is something he cannot easily shed.

For the greater good of the industry, he should agree to step aside so that the effort can present a better front.

Furthermore the initiative in South Africa has as presented by the export group led by Adrian Todd leads outsiders to believe that the commercial and self-serving aspects of the effort far outweigh the beneficial nature of the progress a viable export protocol can have on the entire South African racing and breeding community.

I personally tried to cause a change, but I must sadly report that not enough support was received, so it’s business as usual-except it will toddle on without my involvement.

I love my South African horses, friends and horsemen and women, but I can no longer stand by and be involved with people that simply are unable to help themselves.

Barry Irwin, CEO of Team Valor International.

Bob Brogan wrote:

Wasn't going to say anything .... But if CVN chucks it, like the messages are suggesting it's a huge loss to racing..

This rumour sounds like a joke but it came from the good grape vine

PE trainer slashing a PE jockeys tyres

I see the Chris Van Niekerk rumours have now been conformed by a Molly Article...

It’s not the first time Barry said he would quit SA racing.


Sent from my Ferrari using Tapatalk

Hi Bob

Was it the Equus Awards scandal that tipped him over the top?

Regards

www.businesslive.co.za/bd/sport/other-sp...g-world-by-quitting/

very sad to lose Van Niekerk as an owner. Good for the sport

Reading the business day above it does not actually give a reason for leaving the game that CVN loves?

It could be financial as far as winners vs stakes but would not think a concern for a man that has winners basically every meeting.

I see it as a further massive knock for racing and sends another negative message out for the survival of the game 😪

Dave Scott wrote:

Reading the business day above it does not actually give a reason for leaving the game that CVN loves?

It could be financial as far as winners vs stakes but would not think a concern for a man that has winners basically every meeting.

I see it as a further massive knock for racing and sends another negative message out for the survival of the game 😪

I read that, what I do think it has to do with issues in racing,maybe not happy with the task team. Otherwise he would have kept a couple and still stayed in the game that he loves. In horse racing we have seen this happen many times and somewhere down the line the real reason comes out.
What still worry’s me is that in the last two years nothing has changed. We need people involved running racing with passion and not about what they can get out of it.
Hopefully cvn will speak out as when someone packs it in all of a sudden from top owner to non owner instantly then there is a big reason.